Tibetan Tea with rich Tibetan Culture

"Every Tibetan family has no less than 3 to 5 tea pots or thermos and different tea bowels for tea use. Without Yak-butter Tea at home, we can not eat. And without sweet milk tea, we feel bored when our Tibetan friends gather together"

Tea is a beverage to Tibetan people just like coffee to the westerners. That is why it said that tea is essential for the Tibetans' daily life. Tibetan people are addicted to drinking tea because of the harsh climate and high altitudes. Tibetan people have created their own unique way of preparing, making and drinking tea. The most popular forms of Tibetan tea are Yak-Butter-Tea and Sweet Milk Tea.

Yak Butter Tea-Famous Tibetan Local Tea

According to traditional Tibetan medicine, Yak Butter tea makes people strong and able to live long lives. It is also believed to warm the body, fight hunger, and aid in digestion. Yak Butter Tea is made of only a few simple ingredients: yak butter, brick tea, salt, and water. Butter Tea has a strong salty and Yak-butter flavor and many people feel it is strange at first time. But once you get used to it, it is really nice and helpful. The yak butter tea is served to guests. And for the distinguished guests especially for the first entry to a local family, Tibetan people will make the frech yak butter tea immediately and this means they respect you very much indeed and they are really happy to have you as their guests and friends. By the way the yak butter tea tastes best when it is hot. Buttered Tea making is a time-consuming and complicated process. Brick tea is boiled until it reaches the right flavor, then the leaves are removed and the tea is put into a wooden churn with boiling water, salt, and yak butter. The ingredients are churned until well missed and the resulting liquid is poured into a kettle where it is reheated and then served.

Sweet Tea with Milk

Milk Tea, or sweet tea, is another popular tea in Tibetan people's daily life. It is an imitation of English tea and Indian tea, but its brewing process is unique to Tibet. Tea, milk and sugar are all boiled together at the same time. Tibetans have been drinking Milk Tea for over 100 years.

Unique and Special Tibetan milk tea overview

Tibetan tea house, famous Tibetan milk tea house

Tibetan tea, 0.5 RMB per cup

Tibetan tea, Unique Tibetan sweet milk tea1

Tibetan tea, Unique Tibetan sweet milk tea2

Serving Tibetan tea, Unique Tibetan sweet milk tea

Tibetan Yak butter tea best in wooden bowls

Tea plays an important role in Tibetan people's daily life. Tibetans use unique wooden bowls instead of cups for Yak butter tea. In a family, each person has his or her own bowel. And women's bowls are always smaller than their husbands. When visitors come to a Tibetan family, the host will present them with tea and then they will sit down and begin to chat. The host will refill their guests bowls continuously. But if a guest stops drinking and allow it to get cold, the host will it dump out and refill it with fresh one. Drinking and presenting Tibetan tea has become an integral part of every Tibetan's life. According to the local customs, when a Tibetan woman gives birth, her relatives will visit with tea on the second day if the woman has a son but on the fourth day if she has a daughter.

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